Tag Archives: Simple Recipes

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/28)

April 27, 2009 dragonlife 4 Comments

bento-09-04-27a

This morning The Missus said that I ate too much rice for my comfort, meaning it was fattening me!
Therefore she declared that I was going to have sandwich Bento today!
Actually, I’m pretty sure that bread contains more calories than rice!

bento-09-04-27b

The sandwich was double-decker with three slices of bread.

bento-09-04-27d

Fairly simple in concept (and probably healthier!), it was laid with a very thin omelette on the first deck, then cheese (toasted), ham (seasoned with mustard) and lettuce for the second deck.

bento-09-04-27c

The Salad dish was pretty voluminous:
Bed of cress.
Plum tomatoes.
French pickled cucumbers and onions,.
Lettuce.
Black olives
Potato salad.
Oranges and strawberries for dessert.

Quite big in the end! LOL

My good friend Elin nicely asked me to include some pictures of flowers as it is Spring in Japan:

flower-tree2

That flowering tree is a Dogwood Tree or Hanamizukira in Japanese!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Japanese Fusion Cuisine at Tomii

April 25, 2009 dragonlife 4 Comments

tomii-fusion

I visited Tomii, my favourite Japanese restaurant in Shizuoka City last night to sample the “Sansai/Wild Mountain Vegetables” menu (coming posting for vegans and vegetarians!). Befi\ore the last dish, I was offered a great dish in its simpicity and taste that I couldn’t include in posting for vegans and vegetarians!

I call it “Japanese Fusion” because it is clever, if simple, association of Japanese and Italian tastes:

Two kind of (green and white) extremely frsh asparaguses were simply fried in olive oil. No need for boiling them.
They were then served with freshly grated Parmeggiano and sprinkled with a balsamico-base dressing.
Mr. Tomii added a “onsen tamago/Japanese-style poached egg” to break and eat together wth the asparaguses.
Some pimentoes added the final colour touch.

Simple and so “oishii/scrumptious”!
A great combination of crunchiness (asparaguse) and tenderness (egg)!

TOMII
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg, 1F
Tel.: 054-274-0666
Business hours: 17:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

————————-
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/27)

April 25, 2009 dragonlife 2 Comments

bento-09-04-25a

Saturday is definitely not a “bento day”, but with the storm announced for the whole day by the weather forecast, we decided it would be more practical for both of us instead of having to travel inside stuffy slow buses!

bento-09-04-25b

The Missus kept things simple:
She already had ready to fry thin pork slices in the fridge.
She placed them on a bed of teamed rice first overlaid with finely chopped greens. She had seasoned the pork with bbq sauce and sprinl\kled them with white sesame. She added “takuan”/yellow pickled daikon and home-made wasabi flowers and stem pickles.

bento-09-04-25c

The side dish was fairly simple, too:
Plenty of “kawaire daikon” for vitamin C, mini tomatoes, simmered black beans and tamagoyaki.

Plenty enough!

My good friend Elin nicely asked me to include some pictures of flowers as it is Spring in Japan:

flower-tree1

Last Cherry blossoms in Shizuoka City!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

French Cuisine: Seafood Souffle

April 24, 2009 dragonlife 12 Comments

Last night I cooked an old favourite of mine: Seafood Souffle
Souffle is not that complicated.
There are simple rules to follow though:
-Get all your ingredients ready within reach first.
-Souffle must be savoured as soon as it comes out of the oven. As the adage says, “The guests wait for the souffle; the souffle does not wait for the guests!”.
It is another way to eat seafod in season and it’s a favourite when Spring and Autumn nights are still cool or cold. Of course it is a great dish in winter as it will warm up your guests or family!
Ingredients can be easy replaced according to season or supply. The spices indicated are basic and also open to imagination!

Ingredients (large portions for 2 persons)
-Eggs:5
Separate yolks from whites. Keep yolks in a small dish. Pour the whites into a large bowl with a pinch of salt.
-Milk: 1 cup/200 cc
-Butter: 50 grams
-Flour: 70 grams/2 large tablespoons
-Salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme (powder) to taste.
-Olive oil: 1 large tablespoon
-Oysters: 12 out of their shells in a small strainer to allow excess water out.
-Mussles: 24 large shells bushed and cleaned under running water.
-Crab: 1 small tin. If fresh, a “fistful” slightly boiled or steamed).
-Shallots: 1 large, thinly chopped
-Garlic: 1 clove, thinly chopped
-Noilly or sweet white wine: 1 glass/50cc/a quarter cup
-Thinly chopped fresh herbs (Italian parsley, basil, etc.): 1 “fistful”.

Recipe:
1) Pour oil into a deep non-stick frypan over a medium high fire. Cook shallots and garlic until shallots turn transparent. Take care that garlic does not darken.
2) Drop the mussles in. Close with glass lid.
3) When mussles are all open switch off fire and take them out shaking all vegetables and juice out. Delicately separate mussles from their shells. Put aside in a small dish. Discard shells.
4) Switch on ffire again to medium and drop oysters in.
Cook them just long enough for them to stay tender. Switch off fire and take oysters out delicately. Put aside in a small dish.
5) Take crab out of the tin and squeeze out juices into the frying pan.
Put aside in a small dish.
6) Switch on fire again and reduce sauce at least to half. Switch off fire and strain the sauce into a cup. Put aside for white sauce.
7) White sauce:
On a medium fire, in a large deep pot melt butter completely. Drop in all the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour in milk little by little, whiking all the time to attain a smooth sauce. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme, and cup of reduced juices. Mix. Keep stirring gently until sauce is very thick and adheres to the whisker.
8) Switch off fire. Mix in the yolks with whisker until smooth. Drop in fresh herbs and mix well.
Beat the egg whites until very firm
Fold whites into sauce one third at a time with a spatula (if you mix with a whisker, the souffle will not rise. If you pour all the whites at once you will end up with white “blobs” and uncooked liquid yellow sauce).

9) butter the inside of 2 (or more reducing the size) oven dishes about 12 cm across and 7 cm high.
Pour in one layer of sauce on the bottom of each dish.
Place half of the oysters in each dish and cover with one more layer of sauce.
Place half of the mussles on top and cover with one more layer of sauce.
Spread half of the crab in each dish on top of the last layer of sauce and cover the lot with the rest of the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cook for 35~45 minutes depending on your oven.
Chck if souffle is ready with a thin stick. It should come out with no sauce attached to it.
Serve immediately!

————————-
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Vegan and Vegetarian Sushi (renewed)

April 23, 2009 dragonlife 10 Comments

(from top to bottom and left to right: Konnyaku/Devil’s Tongue Tuber, Celery marinated in Amazu/sweet vinegar and pickled Japanese plums, Shiro negi/White leek, Na no Hana/Rape Blossoms, Gobo/Burdock roots, Satsuma Imo/Sweet yams, Daikon/Long Japanese radish)

Whenever I can convince there is Japanese food fit for Vegans and Vegetarians (I’m neither!), I make a point of posting articles that might help friends with different culinary priorities!
I have recently received more requests about recipes and examples.
Therefore I decided to re-post a former article with the addition of more discoveries!

There is vegan and vegetarian sushi in Japan and elsewhere!
As a proof have a good look at the picture and explanations above. The pic was taken at Iroha Sushi, a small but extremely renown sushi restaurant in Iwata City, an area celebrated for its vegetables!

Kyoto is a renown place for Vegan & Vegetarian Sushi!
From right to left, top to bottom:, Yuuba (tofu sheets), Takenoko (Bamboo shoots), Myoga (myoga ginger), Zenmai (Spring vegetable variety), Ki no mi (Spring vegetables), Awafu (grilled tofu sheets), Kamo Nasu (kamo egg-plant), Hakusai Maki (Chinese cabbage).
Print a copy of this pic, show it to your local Sushi Restaurant and challenge him/her into preparing your favorite tidbits!

From bottom to top: Takenoko (boiled bamboo shoots topped with a sprig of sansho/Japanese pepper plant)), Kabu Tsukemono (pickled turnip), Sugiku no Ha Maki (sugiku Chrysanthemum leaves)
And what about these? Not only tasty but fulfilling!

“Kanpyou maki”/dry gourd shavings: here is one that any sushi restaurant will serve you!

That small one is my personal favourite: “menegi”/thin leeks sprouts!

24-24-24-311
Vegan/vegetarian Te-maki: natto, shiso, ume/Japanese pickled plum.
(Sushi Ko in Shizuoka City!)

24-24-24-33
Another Vegan/vegetarian Kanpyo-maki/dry gourd shavings roll for second dessert!

24-24-24-8

Menegi/leek sprouts, Soba no Shinme/buckwheat sprouts, Mitsuba, avocado, Takuan/pickled daiko and shiso nd cucumber gunkan, mizuna gunkan.
(Sushi Ko in Shizuoka City!)

sobasushimaki

And how about Soba Sushi maki?

I’ll still keep looking!

————————-
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

New Green Tea Season opened in Shizuoka!

April 23, 2009 dragonlife Leave a comment

shinsha-1

The new green tea season has just opened in Shizuoka Prefecture!
Our Prefecture produces more than half of all green tea harvested in Japan and is the leader not only in quantity but also in quality!

If you happen to stop at Shizuoka JR Railway Station, keep an eye open!

shinsha-2

The MOTOYAMA Tea Growers Association is offering a free tasting of their new tea to all and sundries!
New tea is called “Shinsha” (New Tea) or “Ichiban cha” (First Tea) in Japanese.
A great occasion to make acquaintance with Japanese Nationla Beverage!

————————-
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Soba/Buckwheat Noodles: Easy Preparation

April 22, 2009 dragonlife 8 Comments

soba-saru

I’ve been asked for some time how to make your own soba/buckwheat noodles at home.
It is not that difficult, although you might need some particular tools.
Here is a simple recipe from which you can freely improvise.

INGREDIENTS:
Enough for 5 people
Buckwheat Flour/Soba-ko: 400g
Wheat flour (normal): 100g
Cold water: 250g
Some additional buckwheat flour for folding

TOOLS:
Large pan
Wooden rolling pin
Large Chinese/Japanese-style chopping knife
Wooden working surface/board
Board for guiding knife

RECIPE:

First step:
soba_1
Pour buckwheat flour and Wheat flour into a large basin/pan and mix well.
Pour in one third of the water slowly in a thin flow. Mix with tip of fingers.

Step 2:
soba_2
Break eventual hard lumps between fingers.

Step 3:
soba_3
Repeat step 1 twice again until you obtain a fine mixture.
Work as fast as possible.

Step 4:
soba_4
Once satisfied with the uniformity of the mixture, press hard with your knuckles.

Step 5:
soba_5
Once the flour has chamged into one lump, fold and press with palm of the hand.

Step 6:
soba_6
Repeat Step 5 until lump has become shiny. Fold into a ball.

Step 7:
soba_7
Shape the lump into a pyramid.

Step 8:
soba_8
Turn pyramid onto its tip and press hard as to form a saucer.

Step 9:
soba_9
Start spreading lump with wooden roll pin. first angle by angle as to form square.

Step 10:
soba_10
Once you have spread the lump until the square has diminished to a 2 mm thickness, first sprinkle some buckwheat flour all over the surface and fold in two.

Step 11:
soba_11
Sprinkle with buckwheat flour and fold again (4 layers).

Step 12:
soba_12
Cut soba lump with the heavy chopping knife, using the wooden guide board for even cutting by shifting the guide board slightly after each cut.

Step 13:
soba_13
Bring a large large pan of water to boil, drop noodles into water separating them between your fingers as they fall out. Boil for 2~3 minutes stirring with long chopsticks.

Step 14:
soba_14
Take noodles out of pan (the soba tsuyu/soba soup can be used hot later) with a sieve and coll down under running cold water. Drain.

Step 15:
soba_15
Serve onto plate with or without dry seaweed, wasabi, soba soup or whatever you feel like.
You could also make maki with the same soba.
Variations are many!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/26)/Spring Flowers

April 22, 2009 dragonlife 2 Comments

bento-09-04-22

Wednesday is usually not a “bento day”, but since I will be very busy this afternoon conducting a video interview of a local sake brewery, I simply will have no time to go back home for lunch.

The Missus this time came up with her own “classic”, pasta salad bento:
Boiled, drained and cooled spaghetti to which she added some dressing before laying them inside the box. She then sprinkled them with a little grated parmegiano cheese.
She added smoked salmon, pink pepper, Italian parsley from our verandah, boiled slice, Sliced plum tomato, boiled broccoli, Some cut cucumber, French flageolet green beans, French pickles, small herbes and lettuce. As for dessert, oranges from her family’s garden.

My good friend Elin nicely asked me to include some pictures of flowers as it is Spring in Japan:

cherry-blossoms

Cherry Blossoms in Shizuoka City.

atami-plum-garden

Plum Trees in Atami City.

fuji-miho

Shizuoka is also famous for its oranges!
This picture was taken from Miho, Shimizu Ku, Shizuoak City, a place which is considered as “one of the best three Mount Fuji Viewspots in Japan”!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Mizuna and Sukimi Maguro Salad

April 21, 2009 dragonlife 6 Comments

mizuna-sukimi

Here is a very easy and typically Japanese salad you can serve as a snack, accompaniment or main dish depending upon your mood.

Mizuna (Japanese: 水菜, also called Xiu Cai, Kyona, Japanese Mustard, Potherb Mustard, Japanese Greens, California Peppergrass, Spider Mustard, etc.) is a popular variety of Japanese mustard greens with jagged or frilly dandelion-like leaves and a sweet, mild, earthy flavor.
It goes with almost anything.
We even eat it in nabe at home.

Last night, the Missus used a bunch of them cut to size bite to form a bed with some very thinly sliced spring onions (very sweet)

Sukimi Maguro is very finely chopped or grated tuna.
By grated, I mean that the usual method is to “scratch” the meat off the skin of the tuna with a spoon. Or if you have a good piece of relatively cheap tuna, chop it until you obtain a fine paste.
Season to your taste. The Missus mixed in ponzu and wasabi dressing (mild), place it on top of the greens with chopped thin leeks.

Served with an extra dash of ponzu it makes for a very tasty and healthy snack (with sake, of course!)

————————-
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/25)

April 21, 2009 dragonlife 6 Comments

bento-09-04-21a

For today’s lunch box, the Missus decided to make it very “traditional”!

bento-09-04-21b

Even the lunch box was tradional lacquerware!

bento-09-04-21c

The three-coloured style bento is a classic here:
The green colour is achieved with boiled flat ingenmame/green string beans cut at a slant and small enough to form a “bed of green”.
The yellow part is iri-tamago, a form of sweet Japanese scrambled eggs.
As for the brown part, it is made up of tori-soboro. Minced chicken was first seasoned, including black sesame seeds, and then fried as to form small “clumps” and then laid on top of the rice, which had been steamed with a seasoning (the Missus wouldn’t tell me what!)

bento-09-04-21d

As for the salad, the Missus made a bed of mixed herbs and added cut cucumber, Ameera Rubbins mini tomatoes, corn, boiled broccoli, boiled shrimps and French pickled cucumbers and mini onions.

I might ask for that again soon!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/24)

April 20, 2009 dragonlife 8 Comments

bento-09-04-19a

The Missus has this peculiar habit of teasing me (very) early in the morning by asking me:
-How would you like your rice for your bento today?
-Well,…
-You should have answered at once, since you know I was going to cook rice since last night!
-???…

Then, as I was finishing my coffee:
-How big do you want it?
-Just the usual!
-All right,…

I should have known better, because she did come with a big one!

bento-09-04-19b

She steamed the rice with shredded carrots and served it with black sesame seeds and some home-made sweet ginger pickles.

bento-09-04-19c

She has just bought a new large tamagoyaki fry pan, so I know she will cook my favourite bento item for some time. A couple of Shizuoka-grown mini-tomatoes were added.

bento-09-04-19d

Then she came up with deep-fried renkon/lotus roots, Chicken sasami/breast fillets deep-fried with shiso/perilla leaves dry seaweed.. Some lettuce and lemon finished the lot.

bento-09-04-19e

As for the salad (-eat it before the rice!, she ordered):
On lettuce leaves, cucumber, boiled brocoli, Japanese processed cheese, walnuts and strawberries!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/23)

April 16, 2009 dragonlife 6 Comments

bento-09-04-16-a

Today Missus was still recovering from a bad fit of viral flu and it was her day-off from work. Moreover I was having a busy day. We agreed that a lunch box was on order, the more for it that it would become part of the Missus’ lunc, too!

bento-09-04-16-b

I hadn’t been eating much for the last three day, so she made quite a big bento!

bento-09-04-16-c1

The “main dish” consisted of some of my favourites: Deep-fried garlic chicken (thigh parts off the bone) and tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette with boild brocoli, lettuce and home-stewed sweet blak beans.

bento-09-04-16-d

The steamed rice had been mixed with “hijiki/sweet seawedd” after cooking and sprinkled with plenty of white sesame seeds. The Missus added some pickled ginger as well.

bento-09-04-16-e

As for the salad, on a bed of chopped veg, canned beans, mini tomatoes, fresh cress and boiled pois gourmands/green peas in their pod.

It did take me some time to eat it all, but who am I to complain! LOL

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/22)

April 13, 2009 dragonlife 6 Comments

bento-09-04-13a

Today’s bento was “small” and could become a good suggestion for a small appetite!
The reason? The last few days I overate and overdrank myself and had been physically and mentally (that happens) very busy. When I woke up 5:30 the body just screamed a loud and painful “NO!”. This is a very rare occurrence and I will spare you form the details!

bento-09-04-13b

Only two (fairly big) nigiri/rice balls of freshly steamed rice and shopped fresh ginger covered with white sesame seeds.
Very tasty, actually!

bento-09-04-13c

The very simple salad consisted of my comfort food, tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette, Mini tomatoes, pois gourmands/wholly edible green peas, cress and pepper ham on a bed of chopped veg.

Large enough, I can guarantee you!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/21)

April 7, 2009 dragonlife 6 Comments

bento-09-04-07a

Yesterday’s bento was a simple sandwich pack as I wa too busy to eat a proper bento in tranquility.
Today’s lunch was definitely of the traditional kind:

bento-09-04-07c

I’ll talk about the rice later.
The meat are thin slices of pork oven-cooked in sauce and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The sauce was typical Japanese soy based and spicy.
The “greens” you can see in the left bottom corner are actually wasabi pickles.
I bought some fresh wasabi leaves and flowers last night and the Missus pickled them immediately. They have a nice hot spicy taste, but not as strong as the root. Scooped little by little with rice,they are simply succulent.
The vegetables were cooked in the oven (3 minutes): renkon (lotus roots, which are just in season), shiitake, three color pimentoes.
The salad is a potato-pepper ham-cucumber-capers combination with a lettuce leaf.

bento-09-04-07d

The rice was “shooga maze gohan”/rice steamed with shredded fresh ginger (which are just appearing on the markets!) and later mixed with white sesame seeds. I must admit it is particulary delicious, and I often request it in season!

bento-09-04-07b

The extra salad consisted of smoked salmon on a bed of shredded veg and some fresh cress.

No dessert… oh well, the Missus has started that habit of fondling my love handles!

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Uncategorized

Japanese Home-made Lunch of the Day

April 1, 2009 dragonlife 14 Comments

lunch-09-04-01

With all the bentoes the Missus is (I was going to say “kindly” but don’t forget she eats the same lunch after all! LOL) preparing for me every Monday and Tuesday I have been asked what would be typical lunch at home.
Frankly speaking, it varies all the time, depending on the Missus’ mood and my own (rare) requests.
But today was a bit special. This morning, April Fool’s Day, I had to go through a stomach scan on my doctor’s orders (which revealed nothing serious, fortunately, apart of a big dent in this month budget!), which meant I hadn’t been allowed to eat for 18 hours (or drink for 58 hours!). As I was about to depart for the hospital, the Missus sent me off saying: “Don’t worry, I’ll prepare a nice healthy Japanese lunch as you like them!”
That could explain that for all the anaesthesics I had to ingurgitate, I stayed conscious during the whole operation!

lunch-09-04-01a

Because I did not have to sleep off all the medicine I managed to come home earlier than scheduled and take pictures of the meal as it came onto the table:
The salad was made with three types of potatoes: yellow sweet potato, violet sweet potato and regular potato to which was added cucumber cubes of the same size, “hijiki” sweet seaweed, lettuce with gomadare/sesame dressing.

lunch-09-04-01b